The Bothersome Bonder
by Sue 750
Summary: The Impossibles are stuck with a very sticky villain... My first Impossibles tale - a short story intended to evoke the style of the original cartoons.


Note; The Impossibles and Big D are the property of Hanna-Barbera.

The Bothersome Bonder.

He was the proverbial Jack of all Trades who supplemented his one-off jobs with the occasional petty crime. Living hand-to-mouth hardly began to describe it! Still, life in Empire City had it's compensations … the city had some wonderful museums where he could go to admire the ancient artefacts he so loved, imagining some of them were his to possess ….. a pipe-dream ….. until that day ….

There was a storm, but it was humid and stuffy inside so he left the window open. He was busy with his latest, legitimate job; an elaborate vase, a family heirloom broken into several pieces after being dropped decades previously, had been entrusted to him to repair. A task of the sort he excelled at. His reputation, in this instance, had proved a definite advantage; he would be paid well, too, once the job was finished and approved, and his interest in old treasures added to his enthusiasm for the project.

Then, it happened.

The pot of powerful glue, a mixture he made himself from normal, commercial adhesives plus a few obscure additions, was open on the table; a glowing sphere of ball lightening came in through the open window and ignited the potent solution. A chemical reaction, explosive; a freak accident; likely an odd genetic quirk he possessed – all combined to bestow a bizarre ability upon him.

Stunned for a few moments, he composed himself and returned to his work, picking up and examining the pieces of the vase, (luckily there had been no further breakages, he noted). He fitted two of the fragments together to ensure they were the correct fit …. "must get some of the glue", he thought … then, a strange, shivering feeling coursed through him and the realization dawned that it wouldn't be necessary ….

The pieces were bonded together, He had gained the power to fuse objects to each other. An amazing gift, he realised, once it had all sunk in. Unfortunately, something hadn't changed. His plans still didn't all concern legal activities.

He had become The Bothersome Bonder!

The singing Impossibles finished yet another sell-out concert in a prestigious Empire City venue with an encore of "Little Sally Ann", then, after saying good-bye to their audience, (or attempting to over all the cheers and screams), went to relax in the dressing-room with some much-needed cold drinks.

"I think we can say that went well", said Coil Man, grinning.

"One of our best", replied Fluid Man enthusiastically, pouring another glass of the cold juice. "Well, we always give it our best shot", Multi Man added, as he sprawled in the armchair, his slender frame almost enveloped in the cushions.

Suddenly, the screen on Coiley's guitar beeped, and Big D appeared. "Empire City Museum of Antiquities is being raided by a villain with an odd ability – he can bond objects together – he caught hold of the museum guard and somehow bound him by his own uniform then marched him out and stuck him to the wall just as the last visitors had left for the night and he was about to lock up the place. The crook then re-entered the museum and closed the doors then fused them to their frame, and the same with all other entrances. He's obviously up to no good as he raided a couple of smaller museums just before this one", Big D explained. "We'll get right onto it, Chief", the boys replied in unison. They became the super-hero Impossibles, and, with a cry of "Rally Ho"! sped off in the Impossimobile to deal with the antique-loving villain.

Upon reaching the fused doors, Coiley sprang into action and bored through the sturdy timber, making a big enough hole for them all to enter. Inside, they found a scene of devastation and chaos. Display cases had been shattered, leaving broken glass and other debris everywhere, There were also neat piles of objects set aside – obviously the items the crook intended to steal. In the midst of it all stood the Bonder; he wore a dark red costume with a yellow circle, bearing a diagram of a co-valent chemical bond, on the chest. "Righto, stop what you've been up to this minute", Coiley told him sternly, "it will be much easier all 'round if you don't get up to any more mischief"! "You won't defeat the Bonder" the villain replied, fleeing into the Roman Glass room and pulling the door shut behind him before fusing it to the frame. Fluey used the full force of his liquid phase to smash through. The three Impossibles then chased him into the Oriental Figurines department, going around and over the various objects he'd fused to the floor to slow them down before Multi duplicated in order to break down the door to that section. Reaching the back of the museum, the Bonder went through the door leading to the cellar, (he had previously picked the lock on it using skills learned on some of his previous illegal escapades), then shut and bonded it behind him.

The door was very strong and heavy, but the combined powers of the Impossibles made short work of it. The cellar contained items not currently on display, including those awaiting repair and classification, along with text-books relating to those subjects and the various adhesives and other materials needed for the restorations. Multi was the first to descend the steep staircase by duplicating himself downwards. He approached the Bonder, who immediately fled into a corner and, taking a large wooden plinth – an item intended as a base for a tableau – raised it and fused it to the floor in the upright position. Multi then duplicated upward, and, sitting on the upper edge of the plinth, informed the villain ; "Better give yourself up now you're well and truly cornered"! The Bonder, however, had another trick up his sleeve; he reversed the bond on the plinth, which tipped over taking Multi with it. The Impossible fell onto a pile of stone statue parts and, catching the right side of his face against the broken end of a stone arm, sustained a deep, nasty graze to his cheek. He flinched, then got to his feet to see Fluey, in liquid phase, hurling himself at the Bonder, who quickly grabbed a large urn in which he caught Fluey, fusing a mediaeval shield on top of the vessel thus trapping him inside. Not for long, though; Coiley sprung into action, and bored through the urn, (the Bonder could repair any damage later, he reasoned), releasing Fluey, who, still in liquid form, slammed into the Bonder's stomach, winding him so he ended up sitting on the floor, stunned. "We'll play him at his own game", Multi said, spotting a huge jar of extra-strong adhesive intended for use in repairing large, heavy objects. He removed the stopper, and, duplicating around the vat-like jar, lifted it up and tipped the contents over the Bonder's lower body, where the solution immediately began to set. " It's been a sticky situation, but now you're well and truly stuck"! Fluey sniggered, then noted with concern that Multi was bleeding from the graze. "You've taken quite a blow there" he exclaimed, "we'd better get the cops onto this character and get you seen to"! "Yikes! Yes, I can really feel it now", replied Multi, wincing. Back at HQ, Big D praised the boys for the capture of the sticky crook, then said; "You'd better get a bite to eat and some rest", and, pointing to Multi having noted his injury, "And you go straight to the medical department first"!

The following day, the Impossibles, rested, refreshed, and with Multi sporting a rather large band-aid on his cheek, were back in Big D's office to hear what had been discovered about the Bonder and his abilities. "His powers are pretty potent", the Chief explained, "he can bond inanimate objects together if he is in contact with or in close proximity to them, and undo the bond if he so chooses. He can catalyze chemical reactions – even coax the inert gases to form compounds with each other, complete outer electron shells notwithstanding – and it seems possible that, if he concentrated hard enough, he could even fuse together land that had started to crack due to an earthquake. We need to research all this further, he could do so much good on the right side of the law. Even he dosen't know the full extent of his powers, and we're not about to enlighten him with what we found out unless we are sure he's going to reform; we don't want to give him any bright ideas he might use for no good"! One thing his power dosen't work on", Big D continued, "is living tissue, so it can't be used to heal wounds, so" nodding towards Multi, "you'll just have to let nature take it's course with that mishap you sustained". "Oh, I can live with that", Multi replied, "it'll heal soon, though it is pretty sore right now"….. in truth, he was enjoying all the fuss and sympathy he'd been getting because of his injury, especially from Europa from Filing and Archives ….. however, he reflected, it was a great pity that the Bonder's ability couldn't be put to use in healing more serious damage. There was a knock on the door. Big D pressed the button on his desk which opened it, and a pretty girl, with medium-length brown hair and wearing a green mini-dress, walked in. "Europa", the Chief addressed her, indicating a bulging grey folder on the desk, " take this and file it in the "active" section – it details what we know about the Bonder up to now, and we could be adding to it soon" … "I don't think there will be any more entries about his wrongdoings for a long time, thanks to the Impossibles", she replied, smiling warmly at the boys. "I'll see you out" Multi said as she was leaving. Fluey and Coiley smirked at each other and nodded approvingly. At the door, Multi asked Europa "Will you meet me for a coffee on your next break"? "Make it a pot of tea; I swear by it's restorative and healing properties, which is what you need right now", she replied, looking at him with concern and admiration. "O.K., then, see you soon", he answered, smiling.

Meanwhile, the Bothersome Bonder was being kept busy with tasks suited to his particular abilities and interests – first he was to repair all the damage caused to the museums by his raids and then he would be doing restoration work for all the museums and art galleries in Empire City. It certainly meant that the punishment fit the crime and there was a considerable saving on adhesives, too!


End file.
